These super soft sweet rolls start with a lemon cake mix for great citrus flavor. Perfect for any spring breakfast or brunch!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It may sound crazy, but using a cake mix as the basis for sweet breakfast rolls is my favorite way to make these delicious breakfast treats. And really, why just eat them for breakfast?
And these Cake Mix Lemon Sweet Rolls are perfect any time of day–including for dessert or late night sugar cravings. Let’s just say they’re pretty irresistible.
I don’t know what it is about using a cake mix (probably all the preservatives) but these sweet rolls stay soft for days. Of course, they probably won’t last that long.
At least not if your family loves them as much as mine did!
If you’re planning an Easter brunch, these lemon sweet rolls would be a perfect addition to the menu. And since the recipe makes up to 2 dozen rolls, its perfect for feeding a crowd.
Not only are the rolls themselves bursting with delicious lemon flavor, they’re topped off with a fabulous lemon cream cheese glaze.
And if you’re not up for eating two dozen pastries, these sweet rolls freeze beautifully.
I like to freeze them on a baking sheet, uncovered, then transfer them to zip top freezer bags. That way you don’t smoosh all the delicious frosting!
Once you try these amazing sweet rolls, you’ll be dreaming about what other delicious breakfast treats you can make with a box of cake mix!
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Lemon cake mix
- Yeast
- Salt
- Flour
- Butter
- Sugar
- Brown sugar
- Lemons
- Cream cheese
- Vanilla
- Powdered sugar
Cake Mix Lemon Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
For the rolls:
- 1 box lemon cake mix
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 1/2 to 5 cups flour
For the filling:
- 1/2 cup butter very soft
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons lemon zest
For the frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir yeast into warm water; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cake mix, salt and 4 cups of the flour. Stir in the yeast and water. Gradually add the last cup of flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and a soft but slightly sticky dough forms.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until dough is doubled in size, about 60 minutes.
- Turn dough onto a large, floured surface and knead once or twice. Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 inches wide, 28 inches long and 1/4 inch thick.
- Spread soft butter evenly over dough. Combine sugars and lemon zest and sprinkle over butter.
- Once you have spread the butter and sugar mixture over the dough, cut the large rectangle in half to form two smaller rectangles. Starting with a long end, roll each rectangle into a log. Slice the dough into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces.
- Place the rolls into 2 greased 9×13 pans (or a 9×13 and a 9×9, depending on how many rolls you have). Cover the rolls and let rise until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake rolls for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While rolls cook, beat the cream cheese and butter for the frosting with an electric mixer until creamy. Mix in the vanilla and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.
- Gradually add the powdered sugar and salt, mixing until smooth. Add more lemon juice, if needed, until frosting reaches desired consistency. Spread frosting over hot rolls.
Notes
Nutrition
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34 comments
Barbara Goodman
I haven’t tried these yet but they look wonderful! You show these early in your post in a muffin tin. Can these be made this way or do you prefer the 9×13 in the directions? It would be nice to have them separated for freezing.
Danelle
I honestly don’t have a preference, but the muffin tin is great if you want to freeze them individually, or really like them to be all the same size.
Gabrielle
Hi can I use lemon curd for the filling?
Danelle
I haven’t try that, but I think it work.
Kathy Goodrow
Happy Easter! I am not a baker but i give you all the credit! These turned out amazing! They take a lot of time but they are worth it!